Stories from the ridgeline
Reflections on fatherhood, faith, healing, leadership, adventure, and the spaces between expectation and reality.
August 5, 2025
The Approach: A Trail of Firsts Some trails leave more than footprints. They leave quiet evidence on the heart; signs that we’re braver and stronger than we ever believed. On July 16th, my son Ben and I stood at the trailhead of Mount Bierstadt, one of Colorado’s revered 14ers, rising 14,060 feet into the thin, […]
August 2, 2025
Let Curiosity Lead the Way Some birthdays are like ridgeline pauses: quiet, reflective, a moment to take in the view. Others feel like full-on jungle treks: chaotic, electric, and alive with riddles you never saw coming. This year? It was the jungle. After a slow morning with Gracie wandering the Denver Art Museum, where brushstrokes […]
July 31, 2025
Some birthdays pass like cairns on the trail, small markers on the long road of life. Not ignored, but not celebrated either. For years, mine have felt that way. Just another step forward, another page turned. But this year was different. This year, I exhaled. We were in Colorado, the place where my soul stretches […]
July 24, 2025
When you learn how to navigate in the wild, you learn more than just how to read a map. You are taught that a map and compass are more than just tools; they’re a kind of truth. You learn that getting from Point A to Point B isn’t just about moving. It’s about moving true. […]
July 22, 2025
In 2023 while hiking Mt. Elbert with my daughter, I learned about the cruel nature of false summits. From the trail head, we could see what looked like the peak glinting in the sun. Every muscle in our legs burned to reach it. Each switchback felt like progress toward that shining goal. We finally crested […]
July 18, 2025
Heat, Humility, and the Ascent The trail wasn’t long, just 3.6 miles on paper but under a heavy sun and 90% humidity, it might as well have been 200 miles. I was guiding a group of kids, teaching them to climb. But before we ever touched the face, the mountain tested our mettle. Every step […]
July 15, 2025
At the edge of Harpers Ferry, where the Potomac and Shenandoah rivers entwine, I once stood with admiration and something stirring in my chest. The sun shimmered off the water like a whispered promise. Two distinct rivers, each with their own origin, power, and path, converged into one. That moment felt sacred. As I sat […]
July 12, 2025
Some things can’t be rushed: Healing. Forgiveness. Faith. And certainly not spiritual growth. We live in a world of microwaved moments: flashy events, fast answers, viral inspiration. Growth doesn’t happen at the speed of a scroll or in the flicker of a Sunday service. True transformation resembles a long ascent. It occurs step by step, […]
July 10, 2025
Some Storms You Don’t See Coming We had barely made it through the gates of Busch Gardens when the skies turned. The kids and I had planned for a day packed with thrill rides, laughter, and all the sugary snacks. But within 45 minutes, thunder rolled in and the rides shut down. Still hopeful, we […]
July 7, 2025
Somewhere Between the Plans When navigating presence, promises, and parenting, there’s a quiet moment that comes after disappointment. It hangs in the air like fog on a ridge line; thin, but heavy enough to obscure the way forward. That’s where we found ourselves the other night. My daughter had made plans to go to the […]
